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2011-2012 School District Budget
| PDF Documents 99 MB - posted 9/8/11
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After five years of revenue reductions, the St. Johns County School District has had to reduce operational expenses to meet continued growth in student population, while at the same time maintain the constitutional class size amendment limits. Estimated annual reductions for the Operating Fund are in excess of $33.5 million based on the per pupil allocation in FY07-08. Due to declining property value and the legislatively reduced millage, revenues for Local Capital Improvement Funds are projected at $27 million. In comparison, FY07-08 Local Capital Improvement Funds amounted to approximately $47 million. Over the last five years, the Capital Outlay budget has lost access to more than $59 million. This reduced funding will jeopardize our ability to maintain our existing schools or build new ones. Florida per capita K-12 funding now ranks 50th
in the nation per the U.S. Census Bureau.
Expense Reductions since 2006 as follows:
• Eliminated 300+ positions
• Reduced energy cost by $2.5 million (current cost avoidance is approximately $10 million+)
• Controlling the cost ofthe District's benefits package
• Delaying textbook purchases
• Reducing school operating budgets by 25%
• Reducing department operating budgets by 30%
• Reducing contractor payments by $500,000+
• Reducing the number of Youth Resource Officers in our schools from twenty-one to nine
• Not providing raises or operating salary schedules for four out of the last five years
These reductions have allowed the District to stabilize its operations since 2006 and to accumulate an estimated $42 million needed to help balance our budget for the next two-three years. If there is no recovery in the state 's economy and/or in the emphasis K-12 education receives from the leadership of our state within the next 24 months, public education in St. Johns County will face significant reductions in services for our students in 2013-2014 or sooner.
The District's revenue budget has changed significantly since July of 2010. Highlights are as follows:
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The District's ARRA Stabilization Funding has ended. The change has reduced revenue by $9,938,695. |
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State & Local Funding has been reduced by $7,781,156. |
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The 2011 -2012 Operating Revenue Budget will be $17,719,851 less than in 2010-2011 and will support more students. |
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Per pupil revenue has dropped from $7,202.43 in 07-08 to $6,123.68. |
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Student population will grow by 2.27% or 694 students. |
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As a result of reduced revenue and student growth, the District will use approximately $19 million from its Fund Balance to sustain school operations. |
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Specifically the budget will provide 83 instructional staff (teachers & associate teachers). |
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$1 .6 million to provide training for 2000 teachers to introduce the new evaluation system as prescribed in SB 736. |
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Funding to prepare for the opening of Elementary School "L" (Palencia). |
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A 5.86% or approximately $6 million reduction in the District's expenses associated with our Florida Retirement System contribution. Part of this reduction was shifted to employees who will take home three percent less since they now contribute part of their salaries to Florida Retirement System. This change will remove approximately $4.2 million from the local economy. |
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The District's capital and maintenance expense budgets will need to be restricted since the District will continue to grow at 2.27% or 694 students per year. At the same time, capital funding has dropped $20 million per year. For the foreseeable future, capital and maintenance must be prioritized with a focus on critical needs only. The District will have to move away from being prepared for growth and using preventive maintenance to reduce cost, to only meeting critical needs. A backlog of growth and maintenance needs (deferred maintenance) will develop. |
If the District does not see a leveling or improvement in per student spending for the 2012-2013 school year, it will be necessary to again reduce operating and capital expenditures budgets so there is not an emergency when our fund balance is exhausted.
Past performance is a good predictor of future performance. To review our past financial performance, please visit our web page at www.stjohns.k12.fl.us. If you visit the District's web page and click on Financial Transparency, you will find detailed information about our financial activity.
Inside our 2011-2012 School District Budget you will find the details supporting this year's budget and detailed discussion of local taxes, (The 2011 Proposed Millage), a brief look at the Florida Education Finance Program and several pages that examine each fund 's revenue and expense.
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